When famous Magician
/ Illusionist, Criss Angel made the decision to personalize
his 2006 Viper Coupe, he turned to the Automotive Magicians
at RealWheels Accessories in the Chicago Suburb of Gurnee,
Illinois.

The Project Team at RealWheels has earned quite
a reputation for creating some of the country’s
hottest customized vehicles. Their automotive creations
are usually unveiled at huge industry events like the
SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) and CES
(Consumer Electronics Show) shows in Las Vegas. This
one was just delivered back to Nevada, and was filmed
for an episode of Angel’s A&E television
series “MindFreak”. During filming, RealWheels
Vice-President, Jhan Dolphin took Angel through the
various modifications with the help of Project Manager,
Cory Polka. “Criss gave our team complete creative
license on the Viper, and he was absolutely thrilled
with the result.” Said Polka.

“I met with Criss earlier this year, to coordinate
a completely separate project.” Explains Dolphin. “When
he learned that I also drove a Viper, Criss began asking
what our team might do to make his unique. Two weeks
later, it was loaded onto a transport truck, and heading
toward our facility in Illinois.”

Most of the vehicles that RealWheels customizes are
the same models that their manufacturing facility builds
aftermarket parts for. They currently produce over
500 vehicle accessories in billet aluminum and stainless
steel for niche vehicles like Dodge Viper, Toyota’s
new FJ Cruiser, and all Hummer models.

The Viper project
had some very specific goals according to Dolphin. “Criss is NOT your typical rabbit-out-of-a-hat
magician.” Exclaims Jhan “He’s got
an innovative and edgy style that is taking the Magic
world by storm. He’s attracting a whole new audience
to Magic, and that style also comes through in the
music he produces. We needed to take all of this into
account when designing the Viper’s modifications.”

The final product that rolled out of the RealWheels
facility last week has the sleek grace of a black jet
fighter, with numerous chrome accents, and a sound
system to make even the most experienced audiophile
envious. Watch for this custom Viper to be featured
as part of the second season of “MindFreak” on
A&E. As for RealWheels, Dolphin says that work
has already begun on a very unusual custom vehicle
that will be unveiled at this year’s SEMA show
in Las Vegas.